


The Ocean's Cry

by Reis_Asher



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Breeding, Childbirth, Come Inflation, Developing Relationship, Egg Laying, Eggs, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, Human Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Intersex Hank Anderson, Interspecies Romance, M/M, Mermaid Sex, Merman Hank Anderson, Non-Human Genitalia, Oviposition, Past Relationship(s), Random Encounters, Trans Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Trans Male Pregnancy, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-10-26 18:14:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20746574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reis_Asher/pseuds/Reis_Asher
Summary: After Markus reveals he doesn't want children, Connor is stranded on their beach house vacation without a partner. With time running out for him to conceive, Connor is despondent. Walking along the beach, he encounters a merman named Hank trapped in a similar predicament: considered cursed after the death of his son, Cole, nobody will mate with Hank and he's afraid he'll have to spend his eggs onto a barren beach yet again...





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Merman Hank is intersex (as are all merfolk in this universe) but identifies as male. Human Connor is a trans man. This is an AU. There is spawning/egg-related impregnation (fully consensual). There's some mild egg/cum inflation but nothing too gross. Hank has non-human genitalia. Connor has a breeding kink. There's some reference to mild dysphoria and off-page transphobia related to Connor stopping testosterone in order to become pregnant. Hank pins Connor down during sex but he's fully into it. Connor ends a previous relationship prior to meeting Hank and the breakup scene might be mildly upsetting if you're sensitive to that.
> 
> Inspired by [Don't Fall Asleep At The Helm by BIGHANK](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19148107) and [Hidden Cove by honkforhankcon/blackeyedblonde](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18979366), both of which turned me onto merman AU in a big way. I initially wasn't going to write this because I feared it was too similar to existing works, but Twitter Jericho convinced me.
> 
> This is Part One of Two. Part 2 will be posted on 10/1.

Thunder rumbled over the beach house, a pregnant pause in the air. The humidity had made the air almost too thick to breathe, the storm barely starting after a day of gathering clouds. 

Connor looked at his partner as if seeing him for the first time. His eyes scanned over Markus' face, hoping this was all some kind of sick joke, but his stoic expression and mirthless eyes told Connor he was telling the truth, pouring his heart out for the first time in a long time.

"I just—I'm not ready to have a baby, Connor. Maybe—maybe not ever." Markus folded his arms defensively. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. You were so excited about the idea that I didn't want to disappoint you. I thought it was just wishful thinking on your part. I didn't expect you to go off T and start planning in earnest."

"We talked about this." Connor blinked, fighting back tears. "You knew I wanted to have a baby. We booked this vacation to try and conceive."

"No, you booked this vacation to try and conceive. I wanted to get away from work. See if my feelings changed without stress clouding my judgment, but it's only clearer to me now. I'm not ready to be a parent." Lightning flashed outside. The lights in the beach house flickered, threatening to cast them into complete darkness. Waves crashed against the sand and thunder followed, drowning out whatever it was Markus said next. It didn't matter anyway.

"So… so we wait," Connor offered. "You could look for a new job."

"I—I don't think so, Con. I've been thinking. We both want different things. I'm not ready to being a child into the world at thirty. You've had your whole life planned out since you were twenty-one. Like you're going to be forty-five tomorrow." Markus sighed. "I don't want to find a new job. The Jericho Foundation is so much more than work. It's a vocation. It may be stressful, but this non-profit is my life. Saving the planet has become my mission—like I was created to do this." He closed his eyes, breathing out a long sigh. "I never wanted to hurt you. I should have come clean a long time ago."

"You're right. You should have." Connor looked out of the window, wanting to look anywhere but at Markus. He'd loved him for his kind, selfless nature, but now Connor saw a new side of him—that of a cold, calculating leader who was willing to sacrifice anything for the cause.

Connor and his wish to start a family were just concepts tossed onto the sacrificial flames of Markus' perceived true purpose. He knew deep down that they would never have a baby together. There would always be a reason why Markus didn't want to move forward. Connor realized he had wasted valuable time he could have used to find a partner who shared his wish to raise a family.

"You know the window is closing for me to have a baby. The doctor said it's in my best interest to have a hysterectomy before too much longer if I want to stay on T."

"I'm sorry, Connor. I can't have a child with you just because of that." Markus slumped down into a chair. "Legally I'd be on the hook for child support, and I don't have time to be a father. Jericho needs me right now. I shouldn't even be here."

Connor bit down on his feelings, determined to try and salvage what he could from what he now understood was a dead relationship. "You don't have to be present in the child's life. You could sign away your parental rights, become a glorified sperm donor. I don't have a problem with that."

"I do. You always try to make it sound so easy, but I know I would care about that baby. I would want to be a father to it. But I have other obligations. The planet is dying! There'll be no world for our child to grow up in if I don't make some sacrifices!"

His hopes dashed, Connor let his anger and disappointment flood to the surface. "Just say you don't love me and go." He knew he was being petty and manipulative, but anger was all he had left. It was that or cry, and he refused to give Markus the satisfaction.

"I didn't want it to end like this." Markus walked over and placed a hand on Connor's shoulder, but Connor shook it off. Markus backed up. "That's fair. I know I've hurt you. I'll pack my things and go back to the city. I'll be moved out of our apartment by the time you get back. I can stay at the Jericho offices until I find a new place. The vacation's all paid up, so try to enjoy the rest of it, okay?" Markus retreated, closing the door to his room with a soft thud.

Connor felt like the bottom had fallen out of his life. A vast emptiness opened up before him, threatening to swallow him whole. Everything had led up to this moment, and instead of the joy of fostering a new life inside his body, he'd been thrown away like so much garbage for wanting it.

The wind howled outside and rain pounded against the windows. Suffocated by the beach house, Connor threw open the front door before he knew what he was doing and stepped out into the stormy night. Rain soaked him immediately, biting against his skin like nails digging into his flesh. He ran down the wet wooden steps and started to walk along the beach, not caring if the sea swallowed him whole at this point. His life was over. His partner had abandoned him. His dream of having a child was suspended, possibly canceled. He could try a sperm bank, but it would cost money he didn't have, and there were no guarantees. His periods had returned, but the doctors had told him there were no promises he'd still be fertile. They gave him a 'you told so' look like he should have conceived before starting his transition, or taken steps to freeze his eggs instead of rushing to start HRT. Like he'd had the money and foresight to do anything more than start the hormones he needed to live his life.

Connor kicked the wet sand. He was soaked through to the skin, his clothes hanging limply off his body. He wanted to tear them off and walk naked without anything to drag him down. Bitter tears mingled with the rain as he sobbed openly, a mixture of rage and regret leaving his body by the simplest route. He grabbed a rock and launched it into the sea, then another and another until he was exhausted. 

Connor thought about going back to the beach house, but he didn't want to see Markus again. He'd only say things he regretted in the heat of the moment, and nothing would change except he'd feel worse about it in the morning. He knew the fault was his as well. He'd pushed through Markus's reluctance about having a child, minimized it—ignored it, even. Hell, they weren't really so much in love as good friends who'd become convenient partners. After transition, everything in Connor's life had revolved around finding a partner before time ran out for him to have a child.

Seeing Markus again would only reinforce the fact that they'd done each other wrong and were now paying the price for it.

Connor tripped in the sand and fell. He lay on the cold beach, lacking the willpower to get up. Let the waves come and wash him out to sea. He was done with everything. He was aware he was being somewhat melodramatic, but for him, the world was ending. He beat his fists on the sand as he thought of all the things he'd endured recently for the sake of having a baby. Periods. Fat redistribution without hormones. He failed to pass as male quite frequently now, and the misgendering he'd endured… All of it was for nothing.

The sound of a low sob met his ears and his ears pricked up, his own misery forgotten for a moment as he detected someone else's sorrow. A shadow lay further down the beach, the waves licking at its form. Connor crawled to his feet and hurried over, kneeling down beside the shadow. It was a man, his bottom half still covered by the water, long, wet, silver hair pooling in the sand around his head.

"Are you all right?" Connor asked. The figure lifted his head. He was an older man with a weathered face and startling blue eyes. He might have been a fisherman whose boat had been wrecked in the storm. He coughed up some water, gulping air, and Connor wiped sand from his cheek.

"I'll—I'll get some help." Connor moved to stand, but the figure grabbed his wrist with one huge hand, his grip strong enough to pull Connor back down to his knees.

"I don't need your help." The man's voice was deep and gravelly, like the rocks on the ocean floor. He let go of Connor's arm. "Just leave me alone."

"I can't leave you out here!" Connor said. "You'll die!"

"Would that be such a terrible thing?" The man lay his head back down on the sand. "I'll never have more offspring. Every year, I come to this beach and spawn on the barren sand with no partner to take my eggs or give me theirs in return. Nobody wants to mate with a cursed soul. Can't blame 'em, really."

"Eggs?" Connor narrowed his gaze, confused. The storm was abating, the clouds parting ways to reveal a startling full moon. The waves pulled back over the man's lower half to reveal a shimmering tail, moonlight reflecting off of magnificent scales before a wave covered him again. 

Connor was lost for words. His lips moved, but no words came out. It took him a few more moments to form a coherent thought and voice it. "What… what are you?"

"You've never heard of merfolk?" The man looked up at Connor like he was from another planet. He shook his head. "Kids these days. Didn't you ever read up on myths and legends?"

"S-sure, but those things aren't real…" Connor wondered if he'd suffered some kind of mental break. He hoped he wouldn't end up in the psychiatric ward strapped to a bed, but a merman? He had to be delusional.

The merman fixed his gaze on Connor. "Then what am I? A figment of your imagination?" He sat up, a wan smile crossing his face. "You've been crying."

"So have you," Connor decided to humor the delusion. It seemed harmless enough.

The man shook his head. "Don't change the subject. I told you what was on my mind. What's got you so worked up, human?"

"My name's Connor," Connor offered.

"They call me Hank." Hank flicked his tail. It thudded hard against the sand. "You wanna tell me why you're out here in the middle of such a violent storm, so late at night?"

Connor looked down at the sand. The man lifted one big hand and cupped Connor under the chin, lifting his head to look at him. He was so tender that Connor felt compelled to confide in him.

"I suppose my story's not so different from yours. I came here to conceive a baby with my partner, Markus, but he left me. Says he doesn't want to have a child after all. I'm—I'm running out of time to have a baby of my own."

"Hmm." Hank looked sad as he let go of Connor's chin. "He's a fool."

"Excuse me?"

"This Markus. He's a fool. A mate like you would be prized in any culture. You're the most handsome human I've ever laid eyes on."

Connor couldn't help but blush. "I'm not the prize you think I am. Not many people want a trans partner."

"You humans and your sex differences." Hank shrugged. "Us merfolk are all the same. The top half—the human half—is different, but down below we're identical. We spawn eggs, and we carry another's eggs to term." He reached down to just below where his human half merged with his tail. His scales parted to reveal a huge dick, which was slowly quickening. It was green in color. Its shaft was much like a human penis with a few extra ridges, but where the head would have flared outwards, the dick was concave instead, more like some sort of giant ovipositor than a dick. Hank had mentioned eggs, and Connor swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry as he imagined Hank sliding into him and filling him up with eggs. Hank reached below his dick and slid his fingers into a slit Connor hadn't noticed was there. He pulled his fingers back out and spread the resulting slick across his dick, a forlorn expression on his face as he gazed up at the moon. "Tonight was the end of spawning season. I was supposed to lay my eggs inside a mate and receive eggs in return, but that won't happen, now. I'll have to expel my eggs onto the beach to die again."

"Nobody wanted to mate with you? Why?" Connor asked, tearing his eyes away from Hank's genitalia. His own arousal was distracting him. Hank would be disgusted if he knew the impure thoughts running through Connor's head. The idea of Hank pinning him down to the sand and impregnating him sent a delightful shiver down Connor's spine.

"I told you I was cursed. I lost a child. My son, Cole. He was the only one I ever successfully carried to term inside me. Merfolk eggs can be tricky things to nurture, and I was never able to see the children I spawned with others. It's not our way. I was all right with that, as long as I had Cole. But… he was caught in a fisherman's net. I searched for him day and night, but by the time I found him, he'd died of exhaustion." Hank closed his eyes. "They called me careless. Foolish for taking my eyes off my son. Our numbers are few enough, spread across the world as we are, but gossip travels. Nobody has mated with me during spawning season since." Connor glanced down at Hank's body as he pulled up on his shaft. Tiny fish eggs oozed out of the end of his dick, the creamy white semen they were suspended in dribbling onto Hank's leg. Hank bit back a sob. "I'm so full of eggs. I have to let them go. I wish I could carry my own, but that's not how it works. They need someone else's womb to nurture them." He let out a gasp and a shudder as more eggs leaked out of him.

"Wait!" Connor wrapped his hand around Hank's wrist, preventing him from touching himself. Heat rose to his cheeks as he realized what he was about to say. "Could a human carry your eggs? Could I?"

Hope sparked in Hank's eyes. "I don't know. There are many legends among the merfolk of those who mated with humans, but it's not done. Humans hunt us. Commercial fishing has destroyed many of our habitats." Hank eased Connor's hand away. "I can't say if the eggs would even take, or if my sperm could fertilize the human egg inside you. We might be too different." Hank shook his head sadly. "You are kind. Most humans would flinch at the idea of sex with a monster such as myself, let alone allowing me to lay my eggs inside you."

"I'm not most humans, and you're no monster," Connor pointed out. "We're both trapped in the same predicament, and we're running out of time. I find you attractive, Hank. Isn't that enough?"

"You're not thinking straight," Hank countered. "We don't know what the medical consequences might be. My eggs could kill you. The human world has technology that can help you. Don't make a rash mistake because you've been hurt. I wouldn't want that for you." Hank reached up and touched Connor's face with the same hand that had touched his dick and slit, and Connor wrapped his mouth around one of those fingers, sucking on it gently. Hank tasted like the ocean, brine and sweat mingling in an intoxicating flavor that awakened something feral inside Connor.

Hank withdrew his hand, but slowly, lingering as Connor sucked his finger to the last. "Let me help you," Connor whispered. "Fill me with your eggs. Let me try to save them."

"You want a child so badly. What if some or all of our children are merfolk? You'd have to give them back to the sea to live with me. Merfolk cannot live on land for long. Could you stand to part with babies you fostered in your womb?"

"You'd have children to love again, and I would live better knowing I had babies out there somewhere. I could visit, perhaps?"

"Of course." Hank closed his eyes. "If you were to birth a human child from this union, I'd hope you'd bring them to see me. There'd be no child support, of course. You'd have to do everything by yourself. You wouldn't even be able to risk going to the hospital. Is that what you want?"

"I want you, Hank. I feel like we understand each other." Connor felt guilty admitting it. He'd just broken up with Markus. Would he regret this in the morning? Would Markus come crawling back to find it was already too late?

No. Everything they'd said back at the beach house was true. They weren't meant to be together. Markus had other priorities, and Connor wasn't willing to wait until the non-profit fell apart and Markus came back asking for another chance. Hank was here right now, fertile and wanting, and Connor wanted to ease the sadness in his eyes. Yearned to take Hank's huge shaft inside him on the beach and become the repository for Hank's precious eggs. It felt like a sacred trust instead of the joyless union he'd had with Markus of late.

He unzipped his jeans, pulling them down and off his legs with his underwear. Hank's thick hands rested on his hips, pushing his t-shirt up and over his head before diving in to plant kisses on Connor's chest. His lips traced the lines of his top surgery scars as calloused hands roved up and down his back. Connor felt like he was melting, his little dick harder than iron as Hank's long hair tickled his stomach.

Hank eased Connor down into the wet sand and spread his legs. Hank's cock was fully erect, magnificent at full mast and Connor wondered if he was going to be able to take the whole thing. Hank slipped two fingers into him, stretching him, and Connor marveled at how wet he was. The idea of being impregnated at last by such a magnificent creature felt alluring and forbidden at the same time as it was sacred and holy.

"I'm sorry," Hank whispered into his ear, his breaths shallow and hitched. His husky voice went straight to Connor's dick. "I want to prepare you more, but I can't hold out. These eggs are coming out of me whether I want them to or not."

"Shh," Connor soothed. "It's all right." He lifted his hips slightly to give Hank better access. Hank angled his dick at Connor's hole and began to push inside. Connor clutched handfuls of sand, the massive organ feeling like it might tear him apart. Hank moved as slow as he could manage in his clumsy desperation. His thick thumb rubbed at Connor's dick and Connor relaxed, concentrating on the fact that he was being fucked by this gorgeous merman. Connor wrapped his legs around Hank's tail, forcing him deeper inside, gritting his teeth against the pleasure and the pain. Eggs and semen seeped out of his hole, running down Connor's thighs as Hank spurted hot clutches inside him with every thrust.

Hank's lips found his, his hungry, all-consuming kiss pressing Connor into the sand. He gripped Connor's wrists, pinning him down as Connor threw his head back, exposing his neck. Hank broke the kiss, leaving Connor gasping for air as Hank left marks on his pale throat. He loved to be dominated like this, and the thought that it was a mythical creature doing it while impregnating him only added to his arousal.

"Hank!" Connor cried out. The ridges of Hank's cock felt so good, seeming to flare outwards as Hank's shaft filled with eggs. Hank stopped being able to thrust as his dick swelled. He collapsed onto Connor and let out a guttural sound as he pumped Connor full of eggs in earnest. Connor could feel warmth and a sense of fullness as Hank spawned inside him. The knowledge of what was happening was enough to drive Connor over the edge. He clamped down on Hank's cock as he spasmed, squeezing the last remaining eggs out of his partner.

Hank seemed to deflate inside him. The merman pulled his dick free, hiding his flaccid organ back beneath his shimmering scales. A rush of eggs and semen dribbled out of Connor's fucked-open hole, and he carefully fingered them back inside, not wanting to lose any of Hank's precious clutch.

Hank's eyes spoke of his gratitude, dark and deep as the first rays of the sun's light broke on the horizon. He rested his hands above Connor's womb, uttering a blessing in a language Connor didn't understand. "For once, my eggs won't go to waste. Raise my children well, Connor."

"I want to see you again," Connor pleaded.

"I can't stay here," Hank said. "There's a great risk in coming so close to shore. I can only risk it for three months of the year, during mating season. Now that I have spawned, I must go back to the depths for another nine months."

Connor clung to Hank's hand. "I'll return to give birth. We can do it together, Hank."

"We'll see. As I said, merfolk eggs are finicky things, and I doubt I can fertilize your human egg." Hank turned his eyes to the horizon. "Thank you for trying, Connor. I hope you find happiness, and that you have children of your own, even if they turn out not to be mine." He planted a gentle kiss on Connor's lips that left him wanting more. 

Connor wasn't content to let it end here, but he knew he had no choice. Soon, people would be walking along this very beach with their dogs, celebrating a new day. Hank couldn't be sitting on the sand when that happened, or he'd spend the rest of his life in a lab or a zoo, being gawked at by curious humans.

"I love you," Connor blurted out. "I want to come with you. There's nothing for me here."

"Alas, we belong to different worlds." Hank wiggled his tail until his bottom half was underwater. "I have no doubt you would have been a wonderful lifemate, Connor, but you're human. Your place is on the surface." He dipped beneath the waves, and all Connor saw in the distance was a splash as something darted beneath the waves. It might have been a dolphin at, but Connor wanted to imagine he'd caught one last glimpse of his merman. Hank was gone, and Connor only had his gift to remember him by. A gift that might not take if he didn't care for himself.

Connor dressed quickly. His mind was clearer than it had been in a decade. His tryst with Hank had highlighted the passion he'd been missing in his relationship with Markus, and he felt a sense of relief that they'd ended things. He'd almost made a huge mistake, but he was going to be all right now. He rested his hand on his body, noticing a small bulge from the sheer volume of Hank's eggs.

Markus was gone when he made it back to the beach house, his things gone like he'd never been there. Connor was almost disappointed he didn't run into him, but a phone call down the line would suffice. Maybe they'd even manage to be friends again eventually.

Connor spent the rest of the vacation resting. He was delighted when he woke a week later feeling sick. His period never came, and a mixture of jubilation and fear rocked him when he took a pregnancy test to find it positive. He already looked larger than before, and he wondered how many of Hank's eggs were growing inside him. He might be looking at an entire family, and he had to hold back tears of joy at the thought of a multiple pregnancy.

"Hank, I don't know if you're out there, but I'm pregnant," Connor said to the waves, on his last night at the beach house. "It wasn't for nothing. We made babies together." Connor closed his eyes, tears threatening to spill. The future wasn't going to be easy. He'd have to face a lot of hostility, and he'd have to stay away from modern medicine, trusting his instincts to know what was right. Despite all that, it could well end in heartbreak. He'd told Hank it was okay, but could he really surrender their merchildren to Hank, knowing he'd see them at best once a year?

Yet he couldn't bring himself to regret it. Hank had granted him a precious gift, and if he could make that handsome merman smile once more after so much grief, would it really be so terrible to part ways, knowing his children were loved and cherished by a wonderful man like Hank?

~End of Part One~


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Merman Hank is intersex but identifies as male. Human Connor is a trans man. This is a Detroit: Become Human AU fanfic. Be aware that there is trans male pregnancy, magical transformation, and childbirth in this part. If those things make you uncomfortable, please don't read.

"Hank!" Connor yelled to an empty beach. He was heavily pregnant, his swollen belly bulging with multiple babies. His desperation grew as a low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, the waves crashing on the shore his only answer from the sea. What if something had happened to Hank in the eight months Connor had been away?

He couldn't raise these children alone, especially if they were merbabies. Connor could hardly swim at all. Fear flooded through his body, threatening to send him into a panic attack. He fell to his knees in the soft sand. He'd felt called back to this spot and now he wished he'd never come. What if Hank never intended to return?

Lightning split the sky, hitting the ocean in the distance, and Connor felt a sharp stab of pain jolt through him as though he'd been struck. His water broke, and his eyes bulged with panic. He wasn't ready for this. It was too early. It was—but then he had no idea really, did he? He hadn't visited a hospital, afraid they'd find out his babies weren't human. He'd gotten this far along with the hope that Hank would be waiting at the end, but Connor supposed he'd be birthing these children alone, finding some way to raise them away from human and marine predators alike. They probably wouldn't survive. That thought was too much to bear and Connor started to sob.

"Hank, I need help!" Connor cried as another rumble of thunder echoed nearby. The storm was getting closer. It would start to rain, soon. He needed to get back to safety, but the beach house was a good mile along the shore. He'd never make it there.

He looked around the secluded cove and saw a dark opening sheltered beneath the rocks. A cave? It might be close enough to the sea for him to deliver and get the merbabies to the ocean. It was their only chance.

Connor didn't want to think about that. He'd stay by the sea as long as he could, but if Hank never came back, he would have to leave the to their fate. It broke his heart to even think about his children up against cruel nature alone. No, it couldn't end this way. His children might be human yet. He wouldn't know until he delivered them.

He'd hoped Hank would hold his hand through this, but as he climbed over the slippery rocks towards the cave, the first spots of rain hitting his skin, he realized he was going to have to forget about his fantasy and focus on getting through this. His cellphone was heavy in his pocket. He didn't want to call for help, but if it came down to it…

The seas churned, a large wave almost washing Connor off the rock he was clinging to. The large sundress he wore clung to his belly, soaked through, and for the first time since his encounter with Hank he started to regret offering his body to the merman. Who could say if Hank had spun a sob story to entice Connor into taking his eggs? The thought had never occurred to him until now, but it was a frightening one. Who could say what creatures he might give birth to, or if the process of birthing his children might kill him?

It was a little late to consider that, he realized, as another wave crashed against him. He took a deep breath and climbed across to solid ground, putting his foot on the rock in front of the cave's entrance. He angled his flashlight inside as he wandered into the cave, minding his footing. Inside the small fissure was a pool of water with a shallow end and little else. It would be enough for a water birth. It had to be. Connor had no other choice. He tore his sundress off, dipping into the surprisingly warm water. He could sit against the rocks in the shallows and he did so, resting his head back against a large stalagmite and getting his teeth as a wave of contractions washed over him.

Connor pushed as hard as he could, gripping onto a rock for support. He sobbed, agony and anger tearing through him. He'd given up so much for these babies. He was misgendered almost constantly by strangers who didn't understand trans men could get pregnant too. If this birth didn't give Connor a human child, he was going back on T and moving on with his life. Cis men and mermen had one thing in common—they weren't worth the heartache they caused. He'd been such a fool to think Hank cared about anything beyond laying his eggs inside a willing host. Connor had been such a sucker for believing Hank's story.

"CONNOR!" Connor heard a distant echo rumble through the storm outside. He thought he might have imagined it when the voice came again, clearer this time.

"In here!" Connor yelled, hope flaring inside him. "Hank!" All went silent for a few moments until the water around him bubbled. Hank surfaced in the pool, swimming over to Connor's side. Connor had never been so glad and so angry in his life as Hank offered him a warm smile.

"Where have you been?" Connor snapped. "The babies are coming, Hank!"

"Shh. I'm here, now. Keep pushing." Hank dived below the water and resurfaced. "I can see the head. Keep going!"

"I'm trying!" Connor yelled. He redoubled his efforts, screaming into the small cave for what seemed like hours, the echoes loud enough to drown out the storm. Something rushed out of his body and he felt the first baby leave him. Hank brought it up above the surface, and Connor was both overjoyed and disappointed to see the merchild's tail beneath the layer of blood Hank was washing off. Its umbilical cord was still attached as Hank held it close and sank lower into the water. There were tears in Hank's eyes, and Connor regretted his bitterness. The human world had taken its toll on Connor, making him bitter over the past year as friends and relatives grew distant with him. Hank's unbridled emotion was beautiful in its sincerity.

"Another one's coming, Hank!" Connor reached out and grasped Hank's arm, squeezing his thick bicep hard enough to leave fingerprints. He was tired, so tired, and yet there was so far to go. Fear jabbed at him that despite Hank's presence, there was a real danger this birth could kill him.

"It's gonna be all right," Hank whispered. "Just keep pushin'. You're doin' great." Connor sobbed, wishing he had pain relief to help him through this. It was so much and he was so exhausted. He'd sleep after this. Hank would take care of him. It was difficult to look into his bright blue eyes not feel reassured.

He barely felt the second child leave him, but as soon as the placenta was delivered, he realized he was done. There were no more children. Twins. Two of Hank's eggs had made it to birth. He had merbabies to love, now. Connor's work was done. He slumped in the pool, exhausted and relieved.

Hank lifted the second child above the water and Connor bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he saw the tail. He'd hoped that Hank's sperm had impregnated his human egg, but who was to say if that was even possible? He closed his eyes to steel himself against the tears burning the backs of his eyelids. He didn't want to sob with disappointment and ruin Hank's big moment.

"Connor!" Hank's voice was almost a gasp. "Connor, open your eyes."

Connor did, and he saw two legs in front of his face, the flopping limbs of a human infant. Hank dipped it below the water, and when he raised it, Connor saw the scales on its tail fade, transforming back into human legs on a very human male child. As if the tail were only an illusion.

"That's impossible," Connor whispered. "That's—"

"Our child," Hank whispered. The merchild was swimming laps around Hank, eager to get a look at their brother. Connor reached out for the child and Hank set him in his arms. "He's half-human. When he hits the water, his legs turn into a tail."

"I can't take him back to the human world," Connor said. "They'll discover his secret." He cradled the baby against his chest, sobbing that he'd been granted such a gift. A child he could raise as his own.

Hank planted a soft kiss in Connor's hair. "We'll have time to talk about it. For now, you need rest. Sleep a while, Connor. I'll watch the babies."

***

Connor woke to sunlight streaming in through the cave opening. He pulled himself out of the shallow pool, looking at his wrinkled skin beneath the waist. Hank was mere feet away, the infants suckling from his breasts. Connor had no idea if Hank could even produce milk, but he supposed it was possible. There was formula at the beach house, but he feared leaving Hank and his babies, in case they disappeared while he was gone.

Hank's eyes flicked open. "It's all right, Connor. You should go back to the beach house and get cleaned up."

Connor gestured to the babies. "Can you feed them?"

"Yeah, I can." Hank shrugged. "Is that weird to you?"

Connor smiled and shook his head. "I just gave birth to a merbaby and a half-human child. Nothing's weird to me any more." He shifted on the spot. "I don't want to be away from them."

"I don't know what ideas the human world's put into your head this past eight months, but I'm not going to take 'em from you." Hank's pupils were wide and dark in the low light. "They're ours, Connor. Our babies."

"I know," Connor said, and he couldn't fight the smile that crossed his face. The future didn't matter when here and now, they were together as a family. They could work out the details later.

Connor rushed across the beach and back to the beach house, the torn, wet sundress tied around his waist to cover his genitals. His legs itched, and he fought the urge to scratch them as he kicked across the sand and climbed the wooden steps to the vacation home. It seemed so foolish to stand in the kitchen amongst so many worthless human trappings. He didn't want to cook in the kitchen or play house. He wanted to be in that cave with Hank and their children. That was where he belonged, now, not here in the human world.

He feared returning to Detroit. Life was going to be hard with such a secret to keep. It felt cruel, taking the boy away from his other parent and his sibling. Connor took a shower and washed away the seawater and the blood, trying to clear his head, but all he could think about was his babies. Was this what it meant to be a parent?

Before he knew it, he was marching back across the beach in nothing more than a pair of shorts, carrying a bag of things for his children. Human kids played in the sand, human children with human parents. Would this be his son's life, cursed to see his family only once a year? Connor had to move closer. Leaving Detroit had been on the cards for some time, but this only solidified Connor's desire to leave. Where would he get the money, though? He'd burned his bridges with Markus the second he'd gotten knocked up with someone else.

He absently scratched his legs as he stepped into the cave. Hank was singing to the babies, his deep voice soothing Connor's spirit from its world-weary exhaustion. He wanted to tear his shorts off and get back into the water, but instead he perched himself on a rock and watched Hank rock their babies to sleep.

"They need names, Connor. It's bad luck amongst merfolk not to name a child. It's an old custom that merbabies expected to perish would be left without names, so they would not cling to this plane after their deaths." Hank clutched the babies tightly, and Connor knew he had to be thinking about Cole. About the child he'd lost to a fishing net.

Connor lowered his gaze. "I always wanted to name my child Gabriel, but Markus hated it."

Hank nodded. "It's beautiful. Graceful. What about his sibling?"

"Technically the merchild is yours," Connor said, glancing away. He couldn't afford to become too attached to the merchild he'd have to leave with Hank, or he'd never be able to leave. "All I did was carry them for you. I lost so many eggs, that first week. I was afraid…"

"It's rare for more than two to survive. You did so well." Hank smiled, his expression full of warmth. "How about Solis? Like the sun."

"It's pretty. I like it." Connor managed a wan smile as he wandered over to the cave entrance and looked outside at the waves crashing against the rocks. "I can only afford the beach house for a month. I used the last of my savings on it. Everyone expects me to return to Detroit, but I… I don't want to go back. Markus has moved on, and my adopted mother disapproved of me getting pregnant without a father in the picture." Connor sighed. "I'm tired of the human world and its petty squabbles. I wish I could come out to sea with you. I don't want to leave you again. I don't want to leave Solis." He turned to look at Hank. "I don't want to take Gabriel from you."

"I wish I could take you home too, Connor, but it's not meant to be. We're different species. I knew when we went through with this that we wouldn't be able to stay together. I thought you understood that too."

Connor looked down at the cave floor. "Spawning season is soon. You'll be looking for another mate to carry your eggs. It won't be me, this time, will it?"

"I can see how much you've suffered this past year. You deserve to go back to your life, Connor. I have to try and find a mate—it's nature's way. Most likely I'll waste my eggs on the beach this year, but I have a child, now. You've given me an incredible gift, and I'm glad I was able to give you one, too." He held Gabriel up to Connor, who took him, cradling the baby gently in his arms.

"My whole life is here," Connor whispered. "I have nothing else."

"You have Gabriel. He's depending on you." Hank looked down at Solis in his arms. "I wish we could be together. I've never felt so strongly about a mate. Merfolk rarely pair off for life, though it does happen sometimes." Hank shook his head. "There's nothing I can do about it. The power of my love won't change a damn thing. I'll always be a creature of the sea, and you, a human being."

Connor held Gabriel in one arm so he could unbuckle his belt and strip off his shorts to get into the pool, but Hank shook his head. "It's best if we part ways sooner, rather than later. We're both growing too attached. It hurts, knowing my perfect mate is from another species."

"Don't leave me, Hank," Connor pleaded. He kicked his shorts off, and Hank gasped. Connor looked down to see scales where the skin on his thighs had been, shimmering in the low cavern light. His legs felt weak, and he fell to his knees.

Hank swam to the side of the pool and took Gabriel from him. "Climb into the water, quickly!"

"What's happening?" Connor asked. He slipped into the water and felt like his legs weren't his own for a moment. He slipped beneath the surface, swimming like a fish, and looked down to see his legs had fused together into a tail.

He dived back above the surface. "I don't understand."

"I think I do." Hank smiled. "Our oldest stories speak of the first of the merfolk being someone who was cursed by magic. Our blood holds power, and that's why we're often hunted by those who know of our stories. You carried our blood inside you for eight months. Some of that magic must have passed on to you. I'm sorry, Connor. You're one of us, now."

Connor climbed out of the water and sat on the edge of the pool, splashing his tail against the water as the babies giggled. He crawled away from the water and his legs returned, though he felt a strong urge to return to the pool.

"I'm not sorry at all." Connor pulled himself back into the water. He reached down below the waterline, exploring his new body. He wrapped hands around his quickening cock, marveling at the fact that he had one as his other hand moved down to his slit. "I'm…" He was lost for words, tears of joy and gratitude welling up in his eyes. "What about now, Hank? Can we be a family now? Will you be my mate?"

"Of course we can." Hank set Solis and Gabriel down in the water. The babies swam around, cooing as they splashed about in the shallow pool. Hank pulled Connor into his arms, crushing their mouths together. They kissed for a while before parting.

"Connor, it's spawning season soon." Hank grinned, his prominent front teeth making him look cheeky. "I was wondering if—if you'd lay your eggs in me as I lay mine in you."

"I'd be happy to carry and spawn your merbabies, Hank," Connor whispered. "For as long as you want to." He thought about the human world, and how he'd never really felt that he'd belonged there. People would wonder what had happened to Connor. Had he walked into the sea, or simply disappeared after his child was born? Connor felt a little guilty at that, and yet it felt like a fate that had been cast in stone the day he lay down on the beach and let Hank lay his eggs inside him. It was right. He was right. Someday he'd take Gabriel ashore and show him the human world, but for now they were where they belonged.

The family he'd longed for had finally come to be, and as he took his tiny babies' hands and dived beneath the water with Hank in tow, a sense of relief washed over him. He had the babies he'd yearned for, and a partner to help raise them. He possessed a physical body that felt more like his own than his human form ever had.

As he let go of his babies' hands and let them swim alongside, Hank caught up and grabbed Connor by the waist, rubbing their tails together in a dance that made Connor shiver with desire.

"Not in front of the babies," Connor whispered, surprised he could speak beneath the waves.

"I know. You need time to heal." Hank replied, his serious expression turning into a smile. "I can't wait to knock you up again, Connor."

"I can't wait either," Connor replied. "More than anything, though, I can't wait to lay my eggs inside you. We'll do it together this time."

"You bet we will." Hank grasped Connor's cock, rubbing it gently. A couple of eggs leaked out as Connor gasped in pleasure. "You're fertile already. Won't be long before you're heaving with eggs, sweetheart," Hank teased. He planted a kiss on Connor's lips. "Wait until I show you our home. I spent the last year getting it ready for the babies."

Connor didn't even look up at the waterline. "Lead the way," he said, taking Hank's hand. Their fingers entwined, their babies swimming beside them as they made their way to the bottom of the sea and the new life waiting for them there.


End file.
